About

SUBC UBC’s Human Powered Submarine Team is a team of undergraduate students, mostly engineers from a variety of different departments including mechanical, civil and eng phys. As a team we design, build, test and race a one person, “wet” submarine.

Our primary goal is to provide team members with the opportunity to gain good practical experience. The experience that students gain through this project is not available in a classroom. SUBC allows students the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to a practical problem, to gain experience with project and budget management, and to encourage a hands-on design approach that will benefit them in future design challenges. SUBC also has the opportunity to promote post-secondary education through exhibitions and display venues such as Science World and the Vancouver International Boat Show. Our project captures the interest of young students and demonstrates to them the exciting side of science and engineering. Our third goal is to sustain a record of improvement in the project and enter one of the most competitive submarines at the competition.

Although most of our previous submarines were two-person, propeller driven, racing submarines, this upcoming competition, our submarine will be a one-person submarine. It is water filled meaning that the occupants require SCUBA gear in order to breathe. The submarine is made of many systems, all of which are designed by the team members. Team members also build most of the systems excluding those that require specialized fabrication tools. The team works hard for months to completely design, build, and test the submarine. The latest testing has been completed in the UBC outdoor pool..